Draft Picks Sports Bar & Grill

Way bigger than I first thought, great service! By far the best burger I have had in Dallas! I’ve been spoiled!
Sadly they are now closed… but Hooters is still open… WTH…

AYCE crawfish for $ 14.99??! YES PLEASE!
I’ve been here several times for their crawfish and it’s GOOD! It’s very similar to Boiling Crab/​Mango in the sense that it is cooked garlic-​butter style. The crawfish peels off VERY easily which means that the timing that they’ve cooked it was done very well! Their corn is REALLy good too! very flavorful, not too salty or spicy. They give you as many corn and potatoes as you’d like and they initially give you 3lbs of crawfish then 1lb at a time after that.
I know of a bunch of people that came here and weren’t happy with the all u can eat crawfish BUT here’s why… you need to come EARLY (start dinner around 5 – 6) because once they get real busy, the crawfish takes very long to cook to serve alot of people so they don’t let it cook the same way as they would when it’s not busy.
The drinks here are fairly cheap as well.
I haven’t had any of their other food so I can’t say anything about that but I’ll be back for more crawfish! It seems like a pretty cool bar to hang out in though, lots of TV’s, lots of games (jenga, arcade, darts, etc) and its VERY roomy! There’s also a dj that plays every night I’ve been here

Sports fans /​chicken pot pie lovers /​crawfish devourers, look no further! If you haven’t been here before, it’s right next to Zouk and down the street from Hard Rock Café. Head underneath the bridge and that’s where you’ll find their parking lot.
The first time I visited Draft Picks was for a dinner get together after a post-​NAAAP (National Assoc. of Asian American Professionals) event. The interior looks awesome: it’s spacious, decorated with sports memorabilia, and they have a one billion-​inch projector screen. It’s really big. (That’s what she: yeah, I know.)
From what our fellow Unilocalers are describing this place as essentially hit-​or-​miss due to their inconsistency in terms of service. But I can tell that it’s getting better and better as they work out the kinks in their system.
Quality of food? Check. Their menu is top of the line when it comes to a sport bars. Order their chicken pot pie and getcha camera phone (not popcorn) ready. Or, you can do all you can eat crawfish w/​a drink purchase.
So a perfect location in the heart of downtown Dallas, a great selection of food & drinks, and decent service that’s improving. That’s 2 out of 3 requirements with upside. Rounding up, Draft Picks is primed to be the premier sports bar in Big D.

Went in to watch game 1 of the stanley cup finals and the place was pretty empty so we got our pick of seats which was nice and they have a huge projector screen thats great to watch games on. For food we got the fried mushrooms (decent), queso/​salsa/​chips (queso was lukewarm and we asked the waitress if she could heat it up for us which she did or brought us a new one but it was still lukewarm which made no sense), and a friend had their cob salad (good sized portion wise but it was made with iceberg lettuce and the chicken didn’t have much flavor).
The game ended up going into OT and apparently they have a contract to have a DJ in there on Wednesday nights so they cut the sound on the game and had hip hop music blaring which I enjoy but not when I’m wanting to watch a game. Its a sports bar, not a club.

I’ve come here multiple times for big sporting events, usually big college football games, boxing and UFC matches. Its always a big letdown, and I wanna really like this place because the atmosphere for sports watching is pretty awesome and there’s really no other place in town with a giant TV that big. They usually have a 15 dollar cover after 7 pm for the big boxing/​UFC matches. I arrived early once to find seating for a larger group of friends and they charged me the 15 bucks at 6:45! That is some BS, but they said they won’t let me in until I paid! I just sucked it up cause I told everyone we were already meeting there.
I’ve also had a problem with my credit card being charged an extra 100 bucks for no apparent reason! I was able to get it solved, but I had to go back to Draft Picks because no one picked up the phone! Sucked horribly.
The service is another thing and is probably some of the worst I’ve ever experienced at a restaurant. Super disorganized and it took over an hour for my food to come. I realize the place is packed for a big event, but I’ve been to many restaurants where they were able to handle the capacity and stay on point with service. This place just doesn’t get it. Food is not that great either and is way overpriced. The only good things are the large TV and the atmosphere, which can get pretty crunk. I thought maybe I should try it on a non sporting night or one of their crawfish nights (which I heard are fun), but I just don’t see a good reason to come back again after those horrible experiences.

We came here with a small group of ten. Half the people got crawfish and the other half varied. It was about 7 on a Saturday very slow at that time. The service was very slow and unorganized. There were multiple times that are waitress seemed to disappear. 18.99 for all you can eat crawfish is a great deal but when you have to wait 20 min between plates it’s not worth it.
Service ²⁄₁₀. Probably the worst service I’ve ever had. It took us over an hour to pay are Bill. The waitress was all messed up and the managers weren’t much help either. They gave everyone attitude for issues created within there staff. And I’m pretty sure they charged us for extra stuff cause they would not give us Copy of all the receipts.
Food ⁵⁄₁₀. Food was average. Just a regular sports bar.
I would not recommend anyone go to this place. You can not trust them. And the food is not worth the service issues.

If there was an option for zero stars, that would better suit this review. We decided to try this place out for all you can eat crawfish on a saturday and to sum up my experience, the food was awful and the service was a big disappointment. I never received condiments that I asked for, the waitress kept disappearing and they ran out of food. The waitress came and told us that the kitchen was saving the crawfish for people who made reservations (which was not stated in their advertisement) and so they were no longer offering crawfish for walk ins. This was after we were served 6 lbs for 5 people. It was quite an abysmal of experience… Never coming back.

The main reason I visited here was to see the fabulous Ben Cina!
We went early, to skip the crowd and were also able to skip buying a ticket! The place was nearly empty when we arrived. We headed to the bar for draft beers, which took forever to receive.
We chose a spot with a good view of the stage and decided to order some food. No one asked if we wanted menus so I fetched them myself. Once the waitress saw us checking the menu out, she came to take our order, which was out really quickly. She never returned, so i found napkins and silverware on my own.
We had such a hard time ordering anything additional afterward. At one point, the waitress took my drink order but not my husbands, so I went to the bar to get him something (and avoid the awful opening band). I waited and waited. I saw people behind the bar look in my direction but not approach me. After about 10 minutes, someone took my order for a draft Shiner. He returned to say they were completely out. It was only 10PM and they were out of the most popular beer in Texas?
We left after the first set, never to return.

The service was bad enough that it overshadowed everything about this place.
When I first walked in I thought, «Wow, this place is amazing.» I was a little confused as to why it was so dead… it’s HUGE. It has a theater-​sized projection to watch football on, screens everywhere, nice big tables, big seats w/​arm rests. I thought the V.I.P. section was a little much… but at first glance, I thought it was the ultimate sports bar.
THEN it came time to order. We ordered food and drinks. After what seemed like FOREVER, and having to hunt down our waitress, we finally got our food. No drinks??? Isn’t this a sports bar? How hard can it be to get a couple of beers???
Everyone else had beer, but I had white wine — which took EVEN LONGER, since they had to «chill it» for me. Not sure why it wasn’t already chilled??? Especially since they had so much of a selection of Pinot Noir, you would think there would be ONE bottle chilled???
The food was alright; nothing special, just food. We probably had to hunt down our waitress about 5 more times after this just to order more drinks, and then to get our check.
In between game time (commercials, half time), they put on music SO loud that I thought my eardrums were going to bust. Some interesting characters then decide to go down to the floor and start dancing??? Strange. The crowd was very unusual. It felt like a night club with super loud rap music, which I’m pretty sure was not censored. That wasn’t exactly what I wanted to hear on a Sunday morning, after a rough Saturday night.
The place looked like a B-​dubs on steroids… really fancy and nice. However, they are doing it ALL WRONG. They need better service, and no loud obnoxious music on a relaxing Sunday. We just wanted to watch sports, and instead I went home with a pounding headache due to screaming over the table. It got to the point to where I didn’t even want to have a conversation.
I would not recommend anyone go to this place, unless they actually wanted to be super loud at the football game, and possibly break out in the Cupid Shuffle at half time.

Visiting dallas and read about the great pot pie. We came on Friday at 7:30 and we were the only people we saw. The positive thing is we were seated right away and they put on the game we wanted and added the game volume when we asked, although i think it killed music in the while restaurant.. It was like being at home with a big screen.
Limited bar food menu no pot pie tonight. Ordered a dr. pepper and they were out of that too. There were about 10 items on the menu about $ 8-​$ 12. We ordered the chicken quesadilla and tacos. Tacos were okay and quesadilla was very greasy. We paid $ 10 for parking so we thought we would give it a try. The parking ticket did give us 1 free drink or fried pickles appetizer. Sad to see a place that could be nice be so disappointing.

One of my fav bars– just because its huge. Prices aren’t bad and you don’t have to get all dressed up to go there. Service could be better– but its not so bad that I don’t want to keep coming. Sometimes, they are just slow. They are pretty good at putting on the college football games on for you if your aren’t a UT fan. I was also told they quit playing the UFC fights which is a bummer. It was a great place to watch them

I’ve dragged myself over to the West End a few times now to hang out at this spot. This is pretty much a place you have to plan to go to since I can’t imagine ever accidentally happening upon it. I suppose I’d describe it as your basic sports bar. Inside, it’s fairly large and they have some very cool seating. Along with traditional tables they have bar style seating with TVs just above for easy viewing and lounge style seating also centered around a TV giving you an almost living room feeling.
Of course, no surprise to anyone who knows me, I head straight back to the bar area. Very cool bar space with a huge bar and seating around it. They even have games, both the coin operated type and good old fashioned Jenga, They really did right on the seating and TVs. I think you’d be hard pressed to find a place to sit where you didn’t have full few of 2 or 3 TVs.
So, this is a bar after all, and I’m pleased to say they actually have some nice choices of draft beer. I mean even craft and microbrews. I love seeing Texas beers at any spot I’m at and this place didn’t disappoint. I was told that they were actually working on changing up their draft selection to include more craft beers. Yes! Conversely, if you’re 21 or just reliving those wild college days, they have this tower of beer you can order and share with your group. It’s gimmicky and not my thing but it’s there if you want to have a go. Along with the drafts, they also of course have bottled beers. I’m afraid I’ve only had a few appetizers so far but they were delicious. If you like wings and/​or fried pickles, you probably should give theirs a try. Honestly, all their food smells delicious and will be trying out their tacos next time I visit.
All times I’ve been the service has been great. I was impressed how even on that first busy night I was there, I never really had much of a wait for refill. It was standing room only at that point and I still had both bartenders making their way around making sure I was good. That goes above what I expect when it’s that busy. Oh and they have some nice happy hour specials as well. If you’re there around that time of day, ask.
So as I mentioned, this place can get packed on big games, if opening night for the NFL was any indication. I’d expect the bigger games of all the Dallas teams will bring in the crowds. Otherwise, it’s been pretty chill the other times I’ve been. Parking can be problematic. I know they have their own small lot which I’ve parked in on week nights. I believe they do valet on weekends but there is also a paid lot just next to them. You can use your credit card to pay which is nice since most of us aren’t carrying around cash and coin these days.
I have the impression they are still working out kinks in what they are wanting to do, but I’m a fan of what I’m seeing so far. I’ll definitely be back for more.

Came numerous times for dinner and late night parties. The place is large and spacious to hold large groups and parties.
Parking is annoying having to use valet in the evening time (just because of the limited parking in the area), but lunch seems to be a lot easier.
Food: the new menu items are great. I highly recommend the Chicken Pot Pie and the tacos.
The new walkway from the street corner (Continental Ave and N. Houston St) is welcome addition to walk to the restaurant WITHOUT having to walk around the whole complex.

Came here because the cheap seats for the Dallas Stars game sold out. Came in and our party was greeted immediately. We’d never been inside here, so she said we could walk around and she’d follow us to where we wanted ot be seated. We walked around the whole place, then went to the very back of the bar. She followed us the whole time. LOL. I was cracking up on the inside as we walked. I imagined her thinking:
«WTF is up with these people? Just sit the F down, jeez. Did you really make me walk around this whole place, only to end up at the very BACK of the restaurant??? Has Bobby called back yet? I wonder… he’s been acting kinda weird lately. I hope that comment about marriage didn’t scare him off. I hope he knows I was joking. But, I wouldn’t mind marrying him… he’s a nice guy. I don’t get why my friends don’t like him. My eye kin of itches. Was it the fish I ate today? Oh well, SIT DOWN YOU A HOLES!»
So we sat down, and the waitress got our drink order immediately. Took a lil whiles to get the drink, but that’s alright. Food was decently good. I got the chicken and waffles. I also got to try one of their hotdogs. DUDE, their hotdogs are really good. Crispy skin. YUM! The chicken waffles were chicken and waffles. For chicken, they use chicken wings, which was cool, I guess.
Service was average to good. Food was ok. The place feels too big for itself, though. It’d be different if it was packed, I’m sure, so I can’t factor that into my opinion really. But once again, this place is HUUUUGGGGEEEE, like a blue whale.
Average to nice sports bar that I would visit again.
Bonus Round:
I saw Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom here. They seemed content in their corner next to the restroom. My friend was in the restroom with her for but a brief second and said Khloe was über friendly. That’s nice.

If I could give a 0 star rating I would, but I can’t…so I have to give a 1.
We came in to Draft Picks about an hour before the Celtics/​Mavs game. I’m not exaggerating, but there were about 4 people in the whole place. The staff outnumbered everyone in there.
So we entered, and stood at the entrance, waiting to be seated. We waited… waited…waited… Finally, someone who I guess was a manager or something came over to seat us. We grabbed a booth and checked out the menus! So we began the next wait to give our orders. We waited… waited…waited. WTF?! There was one group of about 3 or 4 employees huddled around the kitchen area, and about 3 huddled around the entrance area. Really? There was no one in the entire place!
After about a 15 minute wait, we got up and left. As we walked out, the group of employees who were chatting at the entrance yelled «Thanks for coming! Come again!» Wow… how awful can you get?
Bottom line… give good food and good service and people will come. Just because you have a lot of TVs doesn’t mean that people will automatically come, you have to put in some type of effort in order to succeed. Bad service, high prices, and inconvenient parking conditions are a combination for failure.

The parking situation for Draft Picks is pretty bad. There’s a couple of self park spots and after those are filled you’re forced to valet. Seriously? If you’re walking from Victory Park it’s kind of a pain to get there as well as there’s no direct route to the bar. Because of the way the roads are set up you actually have to walk all the way around the building before you get to the entrance. Alright, I think I’m done griping.
Despite everything I mentioned above, Draft Picks is a pretty darn good place to watch your game and just have a good time with fellow sport fans. Sure, you have your typical issues like slow service and limited seating, but to be honest I’ve had a lot worse at other places. One of the unique things here is the set up. You have a the main room with stadium seating and a huge 220″ HD screen (I had to ask to be sure). That thing is ginormous and it’s well worth going just to check it out. There’s also a bar in the back, several lounge-​like areas and a small arcade zone to cover all bases.
As already mentioned from other Unilocalers the prices for the food is a little steeper than I would like. However, the pot pie is excellent and worth the extra money in my opinion. Also, if you happen to go on Wednesdays they have 50 cent wings. These are no ordinary wings either. True to the «Everything is bigger in Texas» motto these wings dwarf all other wings from sport bar in the Dallas area. I hate saying that as I am a huge Plucker’s fan and will continue to be, but they really can’t touch Draft Picks here. They have good drink specials on other days in case you miss out on the wings.
If you’re looking for a great place to watch some sports and want to try something different I would definitely recommend this place!

Good bar food, extensive beer list and nice facilities; however, terrible parking situation and rude valet and security employees. When you have a large parking lot, there is no need to have valet parking for a sports bar… are you kidding me? I would have given this place 4 stars, but the parking and inaccessibility for walkers from Victory Park is a huge negative!

Large screens, multiple games on at the same time, waitresses, music, beer & food… need I say more! However, I’d love to hear the sports & my table dialog over the loud music !! Food wasn’t too good, wings bland, beer choices are though. Wait staff is kinda slow, but very nice. Great concept but needs more work on the sports bar actions and less night club atmosphere. Has potential!

This place is terrible. The host was not friendly at all after we told her we’ve never been here and wanted to watch our football game. Don’t get me wrong, the place is very cool inside with all the tvs and the huge 200+ big screen, but I felt like it was still kind of ghetto in a way. There was hardly anyone in the place during football Sunday. Crazy!
The staff seemed to be clueless and when I went up to the manager (bald guy) to ask if if they were going to play the Bears game like the host told me, he was like, «Ugh…Bears hmmm… let me see…» Then he walked away and saw me standing there waiting and just was clearing plates and taking his time. He never even came back up to me after that… the game was switched to my game, but not by his doing.
I didn’t eat at this place because of the bad vibe I got the whole time I here. The food is SOOO overpriced. Appetizers start at $ 9.99 for a bar? Just seems crazy since this is definitely not an upscale place. This whole place is just strange… I don’t know what else to say about it. I will not be back! I would rather go to BWWs where the staff and managers are friendly and the food is priced like it should be at a sports bar.

Every single person who works here is great! From the hostess to our server to the manager to the cook… SO NICE!
I don’t think I’ve been to a nicer sports bar. Their menu isn’t your typical bar food, def top notch in terms of home style cooking and traditional American fare.
Ask for Akin, he’s legit.